Lorenzo Carter, the state’s No. 1 college football prospect, lived up to his advanced billing at Thursday’s Under Armour All-America game.
Carter, a defensive end from Norcross High, tied for a team-high six tackles in Team Nitro’s 31-21 loss to Team Highlight. Carter also added 1.5 tackles for losses and a half of a sack.
On the sack play, the 6-foot-5 Carter showed off the pass-rushing skills that have earned him five-star status. He beat the offensive tackle to the outside, and then ran down quarterback Brandon Harris (committed to LSU) from the backside.
“I think that was my favorite play of the game because it showed effort,” Carter said.
Georgia had five players on rosters for the game, which featured 90 of the nation’s top prospects. Carter, who is undecided on his college choice, was joined on Team Nitro by Liberty County linebacker Raekwon McMillan (Ohio State) and Carrollton defensive tackle Dontravius Russell (Auburn).
The other two homegrown products, Camden County defensive back Kalvaraz Bessent (Auburn) and Gainesville quarterback Deshaun Watson (Clemson), were on Team Highlight. Watson did not participate this week because of a knee sprain.
After Carter, the top Georgia performer was McMillan, who made a big impression with his attitude this week. Many five-stars throw fits when they’re asked to play out of position for a national all-star game.
Because of an injury to a teammate, McMillan was asked to play outside linebacker rather than inside. He agreed to the change and finished with five tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
“Man, I didn’t feel like I had a good game, but it is what it is,” said McMillan, who reports to Ohio State on Sunday to enroll early.
“I went out there and did what I had to do. I did what my coaches asked me to do. But I’m looking forward to transitioning back to (inside linebacker) on Sunday.”
Carter arrived at the Under Armour practices with tons of pressure and surreal expectations. During the practices, Carter struggled in some of the one-on-one drills and was praised more for his potential than his production.
However, Carter was a dominating presence once the ESPN cameras began to televise the game.
“I don’t know. It was game time when the lights come on,” Carter said. “That’s when the players shine, and I felt like I did a good job.”
After the game, Carter left to return to Atlanta and rejoin his high school basketball team. He has a jam-packed schedule for the rest of month and will take official visits to LSU on Jan. 17, FSU on Jan. 24 and Georgia on Jan. 31. He took a recruiting trip to Florida last fall.
Carter said several Under Armour teammates who are committed to Alabama tried to convince him to squeeze in a visit to Tuscaloosa. His roommate this week was Da’Shawn Hand, a defensive end from Woodbridge, Va., who pledged to Alabama.
“(Da’Shawn) was telling me ‘Just come down there (to Alabama), bro. Just come down there and visit once. You will see,’” Carter said. “But I don’t know about that.”
LSU was the biggest winner in announcements Thursday. LSU didn’t go five for five on five-stars as some predicted, but the Tigers landed two prospects, including the nation’s top running back, Leonard Fournette of New Orleans.
Others making commitments were safety Jamal Adams of Carrollton, Texas (LSU), cornerback Tony Brown of Beaumont, Texas (Alabama), defensive tackle Gerald Willis of New Orleans (Florida), wide receiver Speedy Noil of New Orleans (Texas A&M), wide receiver Travis Rudolph of West Palm Beach, Fla. (Florida State) and cornerback Jalen Tabor of Washington, D.C. (Arizona).
